Temporary Hiatus
by Itachi's Husband
Summary: [AU. KisaIta] Kisame smiled. "Just checking. You know, you may not remember what I am to you, but I remember what you are to me. You may have forgotten all those years we spent together, but I will never forget the memories we shared during that time."
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: This is a story where Itachi and Kisame are romantically involved with one another. If you do not like, do not read.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Masashi Kishimoto is their rightful owner.

* * *

Kisame loved Fridays. Fridays, he felt, were a nice way to end the week. He couldn't think of a better way to end the week than spending his evening curled up on the couch with Itachi watching endless hours of TV. However, since his promotion at work, Itachi might has well been Kisame's roommate instead of his boyfriend. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he and Itachi even watched anything on TV together. Most days, Itachi returned home and almost immediately continue working, throw a sandwich together for dinner and then go straight back to work until eleven o'clock at night.

Although Kisame accepted this as the norm, it didn't stop him from dialing Itachi on his way home to arrange a dinner date for the evening.

"I'm sorry, Kisame. Maybe some other time." Itachi sighed when he heard Kisame's proposition.

"You're always saying that to me." Kisame whined in the same manner that Sasuke would when Itachi said that to him during their childhood.

"Kisame. I'm serious." Itachi said.

Kisame straightened up in his seat. "Is everything okay? You sound kinda depressed. Bad day at work today?"

Itachi groaned. "I was busy, yes, but my father also called."

Kisame opened his mouth to comment and promptly closed it. He'd never personally met any member of Itachi's family, but he'd heard a few stories about them here and there. The only member he hadn't heard much about was Itachi's father, Fugaku Uchiha, save for the few occasions when he overhead Itachi talking to him over the phone. Kisame didn't have to meet him to know that he had a stick up his butt.

"I know that you said you didn't want to go out to dinner, but I think you should."

"Kisame, I already told you, I—" Itachi attempted to say before Kisame cut him off.

"You've been dealing with a lot lately and it's a Friday night. Take some time to unwind and enjoy yourself." He said, lowering his voice. "Besides, you and I haven't had a date in a while."

The other end of the line was quite for a minute and if it wasn't for the sounds of traffic in the background, he would've guessed that Itachi hit a dead zone. "Fine." Itachi relented. "Where did you have in mind? I'll meet you there."

Kisame thought this over for a minute before coming to a conclusion. "There's that burger place on the other side of town on your way home. You in the mood for burgers?"

"Sure. That sounds fine."

"Great!" Kisame smiled. "See you in a few?"

"Yeah. See you then." Itachi replied and disconnected the call.

Kisame was beaming. He loved Fridays. If all went well at dinner, he'd be well on his way to curling up on the couch with Itachi tonight, and maybe he'd even get lucky later in the evening.

"Hey," Kisame purred when he sauntered through the entrance of the burger place.

Itachi merely glanced in his direction, too preoccupied with his phone to reply back to Kisame's greeting. Left to make the first move, Kisame leaned in to kiss Itachi on the lips and gestured toward the line at the cash register.

"So what did your father want?" Kisame asked once they sat back down with their food. He'd ordered a large, double decker burger packed with bacon whereas Itachi had ordered a simple burger with a side of fries.

"Nothing really." Itachi said, dipping a pair of French fries in his ketchup in disinterest. "He just wanted to let me know that I'm a terrible role model for Sasuke and that I shouldn't give him any crazy ideas that could jeopardize having a successful life."

Kisame's face scrunched up in confusion. "Wow. Really? My dad only calls me to wish me a happy birthday – almost a week after my birthday." He said. "And how can he say that you're a bad influence? I think you're a good role model!"

Itachi shrugged and slipped a fry into his mouth.

Kisame's lips quirked at the sight of how cute Itachi looked eating his fries, and had to remind himself what else he wanted to say. "Because, you know, it would be a shame if Sasuke grew up to be a hard worker who refuses to have dinner with his boyfriend—"

"Girlfriend." Itachi interjected.

"Okay, girlfriend," Kisame corrected, "who refuses to have dinner with his girlfriend because working an eight hour day wasn't good enough."

Despite his best efforts, Itachi's lips quirked into a tiny smile.

Kisame grinned. "Made you smile, I see."

At this, Itachi's grin broadened into a full smile as he brought his hand up to cover his mouth before speaking. "So," he said, redirected the conversation, "how was your day?"

Kisame knew that Itachi would've waited to speak when he finished the food in his mouth. Covering his mouth was a clever way to hide the blush on his cheeks. The spark in Itachi's eyes told Kisame that he was right. "There was this couple, earlier, and the woman was the funniest thing I've seen all week!" Kisame laughed.

Itachi nodded and waited for him to continue.

"She was convinced that she was going to buy a used car, and her husband was going along with it, and then she saw the newer models and asked to look at them even though she was dead set on buying a used car, and once I showed her all the bells and whistles of the newer models, she was sold!" He laughed. "But you gotta understand, she was so dead set on buying a used car, but she was so easily persuaded!"

Itachi chuckled. "Isn't it your job to comply with the customer's wishes and show them something that fits their needs?"

Kisame shook his head. "It's my job to get them to spend more so that I get paid more. Besides, I was just showing her everything we had so that she could make an informed decision." He said, putting the words "informed decision" in air quotes with a wiggle of his brow.

Itachi gave an amused laugh to that and looked away, once again, trying to hide his quickly reddening cheeks.

"You're so cute when you're turned on." Kisame said huskily.

Itachi opened his mouth to defend himself when his phone vibrated from within his pocket. His smile faded when he glanced at the caller I.D.

"Who is it?" Kisame asked him.

"My mother." He answered and gestured for Kisame to hold on a minute. "Hello? No, I haven't, why? Yeah, he called me on my way home."

Kisame watched as Itachi slid off the bar stool to take the call in the restaurant's bathroom, abandoning his half-finished French fries, and untouched burger

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Kisame muttered to himself, and took one of Itachi's fries.

In the time since Itachi left to take his call, Kisame had finished his burger, a quarter of Itachi's fries, and downed his drink. And even though he wanted to give Itachi privacy to talk to his mom about whatever was currently going on in their messed up family, Kisame really needed to relieve himself.

Upon entering the men's bathroom, he found Itachi briskly pacing in front of the sink and appeared to be texting someone.

"Is everything alright?" Kisame asked, brushing past him to stand in front of one of the urinals.

"I can't get a hold of Sasuke." Itachi answered.

"What do you need him for?" Kisame asked. If he remembered correctly, Itachi's father had called him on his way here, his mother was the one who called him nearly twenty minutes ago, and now Itachi was trying to get in contact with Sasuke. If Kisame understood correctly, Sasuke probably did something stupid, Itachi's parents found out, blamed Itachi, and now can't get a hold of Sasuke, and because Itachi was, well, Itachi, he assumed the worse and needed to get in contact with Sasuke himself. "I'm sure Sasuke's fine, 'Ta." He said, and zipped up his pants.

Itachi shook his head. "Mom and dad can't get a hold of him and now I can't get a hold of him. What if something bad happened?"

"'Ta, you're blowing this completely out of proportion; _Sasuke's_ blowing this out of proportion." He said walking over to the sinks.

At that, Itachi spun around to face him with wide eyes. "My brother is threatening to drop out of school his _junior year_, and my father is threatening to kick him out and stop supporting him, and both of my parents are calling me nonstop, blaming me for all of this!"

"See? They're all just blowing this out of proportion." Kisame said breezily, flicking his hands to dry them. "Your brother will realize that he's making a mistake, your parents will be mad for a little bit, but then they'll get over it, and then everyone will be happy."

Based on the confused look on Itachi's face, he didn't share the same opinion as Kisame. "They can't get a hold of him, Kisame; _I_ can't get a hold of him. Something's wrong." He said, pushing through the swinging door and taking long strides to their table.

"I ate some of your fries while you were gone." Kisame said.

"That's fine." Itachi tersely replied, gathering up everything except for Kisame's drink to throw away.

"There's no rush, Itachi. We can sit down for a little bit—"

"I don't have _time_ to sit down and talk, Kisame!"

Kisame looked Itachi up and down. No longer was he looking at the calm collected Itachi from before who was holding his hand in front of face to hide the fact that he was blushing. Instead, he was staring into the eyes of a man who was too absorbed with everyone else's lives to focus on living his own. "Itachi, please, take a minute to catch your breath and think this through."

"I _have_ thought this through, Kisame!" He said, pulling his car keys from his pocket.

Kisame gently shushed him, knowing that he was probably adding fuel to the fire, but he'd deal with the consequences later on. "Itachi, listen to me. If Sasuke wants to drop out of school, that's his problem. If he changes his mind, he can always enroll again next semester. Sure, your parents are furious. And they'll probably be mad for a little while longer, but Sasuke's an adult who's old enough to be making his own decisions." He said, and put his hands on Itachi's shoulders. "And you, Koi, are not Sasuke, you're not in school, you're not his parents, and this shouldn't affect your life."

Through it all, Itachi stared into Kisame's eyes, never once averting his gaze and said, "You're right. None of this should affect me. But it does, because Sasuke is my younger brother, and it's my job to make him see what a mistake he's making before it's too late." He said, and brushed off Kisame's hand to make his way to the exit.

Kisame extended his arm and halted him before he could reach out for the handle. "No, it's your parents' jobs to do that. Not yours."

For a moment, Itachi remained silent. And in that moment, Kisame felt proud that his words had actually reached Itachi for once. "I'm sorry, Kisame, but I need to fix this." He said, heading out the door. "I'll see you at home later."

"So that's it?" Kisame demanded, pushing through the double doors, hot on Itachi's heels as they strode into the parking lot. "You're just going to ignore me and go track down Sasuke or go to your parents' house to talk to them, or wherever it is your going? Just like that?"

"What do you want me to do, Kisame?" Itachi hissed over his shoulder.

"I want you to drive back home so that we can spend the rest of our Friday night watching TV on the couch together like we used to do when we became a couple instead of fixing all of your family's problems!"

"Do you honestly think that I'd rather sort out my family's problems than go home and relax? If so, it makes me wonder how much you actually know about me, Kisame!" Itachi demanded, his mouth forming into a twisted smile.

"Well maybe I would know more about you if you weren't always so busy working or obsessing over your family, Itachi!" Kisame shouted back.

Itachi's shoulders dropped in surrender, and his stare turned cold. "I think we should take a break from each other for a little while, Kisame."

Kisame opened his mouth to object, but no words escaped, just air, and watched as Itachi unlocked his car door and opened it to climb inside. "Are you breaking up with me over something as little as this, Itachi?" He finally asked, finding the words.

"No. I'm not breaking up with you. But I do need some space so that I can take care of a family emergency Kisame; something a true boyfriend would understand the importance of."

And with that, Kisame stood numbly watching Itachi as he climbed into his car, started the engine, and slowly backed out of the parking space. He watched as Itachi put the car into drive, never once looking back. And he continued to watch as Itachi drove out of the parking lot and down the road he took to get here, his drink long forgotten, and their brief date a distant memory.

"Mr. Hoshigaki?" An African American nurse asked, pulling Kisame out of his thoughts.

"Yes? That's me." He said, quickly rising up out of his chair. "Is he okay?"

The woman closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes. He is okay. Along with a few bumps and bruises, he appears to be suffering from a mild concussion." She answered.

With that statement, it felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. _"He appears to be suffering from a mild concussion…"_ were not the words Kisame wanted to hear, especially knowing that he and Itachi were on bad terms before the car accident occurred. Karma can certainly be _ruthless_.

"We'll need to monitor him for a few more days to see if his concussion worsens any." The nurse added.

"Can I see him?" Kisame asked, finding his voice.

"Certainly. Your visit will have to be short as he is still a little shaken up from the accident."

Kisame nodded. "Yeah. Sure thing."

"Keep the tone of your voice as low and even as possible; don't raise it any as most concussion patients suffer from headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to harsh light and noises,"

"Got it." Kisame answered. At this rate, he would say yes to anything anyone asked of him if it meant knowing that Itachi was okay.

Itachi's room was small, and the lights were dimmed most likely out of consideration for his current state.

"He's on the far end, by the window." The nurse instructed Kisame, following close behind.

As he walked by, he noticed the presence of another patient, sleeping soundly in her bed, her head heavily wrapped in bandages and sported a thick square of gauze on her left cheek.

Kisame wanted to ask the nurse if she had been in the accident too, but figured he wouldn't receive an answer. All he knew was that Itachi had been involved in a six car pile-up forty minutes away from the burger establishment. Other than that, he had no information as to what had caused the accident.

"Brought you a visitor." The nurse stated.

Kisame appeared from behind the curtain that divided the room and sheepishly waved.

"I'll give you two some privacy then. Itachi, if you need anything, feel free the press the call button and one of the nurses will be in shortly thereafter, okay, hon?"

Itachi nodded slowly.

"Thank you." Kisame said to her.

She nodded and turned to the other side of the room, presumably to check the other patient's monitor or something. Kisame didn't know and quite frankly he didn't care.

Before him, Itachi donned a light blue hospital gown and lay reclined in the hospital bed, his head supported by three or four pillows. When he met Kisame's eyes, he averted his gaze, and in that brief moment when they shared eye contact, all Kisame could see was anger, betrayal, and distance in his boyfriend's eyes.

Although it was uncomfortable to talk about, Kisame knew what needed to be said. "Itachi?" He started, only to be met with the same guarded look as before. He pursed his lips together and inhaled to muster up his confidence before starting again. "Look, Itachi, I know that you're mad at me, but I just want to tell you that I am so, so sorry, Koi."

When Itachi's expression remained unchanged, Kisame reached out for Itachi's hand, the one not tethered to an IV, and gently clutched it both of his own. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I swear. I know this is a crappy excuse, but if I'd known you'd get into an accident, I wouldn't have said the things I said at the restaurant yesterday."

A long pause settled between them before Itachi finally answered "Okay."

A wide smile spread over Kisame's face as he leaned forward to give his boyfriend a hug. "I'm so sorry." He murmured into Itachi's neck.

Itachi didn't say anything and gently laid his fingers on Kisame's sides. Not quite the warm embrace of forgiveness that Kisame was expecting to receive.

He pulled away from the hug and stared into Itachi's eyes. "Are you still mad at me?" He asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about." Itachi said quietly.

Kisame gave a nervous chuckle. "What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? We got into an argument yesterday at the restaurant." Itachi was impassive. "You were dealing with a family issue and wanted to go sort it out, and I tried to convince you not to because I said that they could handle it on their own?"

Itachi slowly shook his head. At this point, his brows were knitted together and his eyes were wide with confusion. He clearly had no idea what Kisame was talking about, which was a relief seeing as Kisame wanted nothing more than to put it all behind them and forget about it completely.

"I might be wrong, but one of the nurses explained to me that in most cases, those suffering from a concussion don't remember the accident and the events that led up to it." Itachi explained.

Kisame nodded. "That makes sense." He knew that from his days playing high school football when a few of his teammates ended up in the hospital with a concussion after knocking heads.

"It's also possible to forget people you had recently met before the accident took place." He added.

Now it was Kisame's turn to be confused. If he understood correctly, Itachi was on his way home to settle things between his parents or on his way to find Sasuke. It seemed implausible that he'd drive all the way up to Sasuke's school which was located two hours away from their hometown, but who could he have met on the drive up to his parents' house and why would it have been relevant? "You were driving up to your parents' house, I don't think you met anybody on the way, did you?" He asked, immediately feeling stupid for asking Itachi the answer to that question.

"I met you, didn't I?" Itachi asked. When Kisame didn't respond, Itachi continued. "I must have recently met you at this restaurant you were talking about, because I can't remember you, I'm sorry."

Kisame's eyes remained locked with Itachi's, looking for anything that would indicated that the other man was tying out a new method of humor. "You're kidding me." He laughed.

Itachi shook his head. "No." He whispered. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you."

But Kisame continued to laugh as if laughing would make the situation seem less surreal. "I get it, I get it; you're still mad at me, so you're playing the amnesia card. Very funny, Koi."

"You think this is a joke?" Itachi demanded with such a serious tone, that Kisame immediately stopped laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't understand what's so funny. Do you know something that I don't?"

"Itachi," Kisame murmured, reaching out his hand to cup Itachi's cheek.

Itachi pushed his hand to the side. "_Who_ are you? I'm serious."

Kisame remembered watching a movie scene about this a long time ago as a favor for a friend on Valentine's Day. She didn't have a date, so Kisame treated her to dinner and the two spent the rest of the night on her couch watching a movie about a girl who was involved in an accident and had completely forgotten who her husband was. At the time, Kisame brushed it off as a sappy chick-flick until his friend explained that it was based on a book which was based from real-life circumstances. To that, Kisame laughed and said "hopefully I'm lucky enough to never have that happen to me!" and retreated to the kitchen to grab a soda.

And now, here he was, staring into the eyes of his boyfriend for going on two years, who looked at him as though he was a stranger. And the worst part was, Itachi truly believed that Kisame was some dude whom he picked up at a burger joint

"I'm your _boyfriend_." Kisame answered. "I've known you for almost three years and we've been dating for a year and five months."

Itachi drew back and closed his eyes, leaning against the back of the bed. "Please stop. I'm in no mood for games. Just tell me the truth already."

The statement left Kisame gaping like a fish out of water. "I _am_ telling you the truth, Itachi; I'm your boyfriend."

Itachi shook his head. "That's impossible."

"How can it be impossible?" Kisame demanded, quickly losing his patience by this point. "Itachi, you're the one with amnesia, not me. Why would I make something like that up?"

"I'm not homosexual. We can't be a couple." Itachi stated.

Kisame opened his mouth to further argue and closed it before he said something that he'd regret later. The past twenty four hours were filled with enough surprises as it was. He didn't want to jinx it now.

"Mr. Hoshigaki. Your visiting period is over. Please wrap it up." The nurse said when she entered. When neither man responded, she frowned and asked "Is everything okay?"

"No." Kisame replied. "Everything is _not_ okay."

* * *

So that's Temporary Hiatus, but wait! There is more to come eventually!

A few story notes for you though:

Kisame has a few pet-names/nicknames for Itachi which include "'Ta" and "Koi." "Koi" is a shortened form of the Japanese word "koibito" which, if I'm correct, means boyfriend. I've since shortened it to just "Koi."


	2. Chapter 2

When your loved ones were hospitalized because of illness or injury, it was your job to be by their side 24/7, as often as you could be, and as long as you needed to be. It was your face they longed to see when they first woke up, be it after surgery, or first thing in the morning. It was your touch that they longed for in times of fear, in times of uncertainty, and in times of pain.

"Mr. Hoshigaki?"

Kisame jumped at the sound of his name and glanced up to meet the compassionate eyes of Itachi's nurse. "Yes?"

She gestured at the space next to him on the bench outside Itachi's room. "Mind if I sit?"

"No, not at all." Kisame said, moving aside to give her space to sit down. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

The nurse pursed her lips together as she scanned the documents on her clipboard. "Itachi appears to be suffering from retrograde amnesia meaning his ability to learn and recall new information is intact, although his ability to remember information before the accident is not." She said. "Judging by his recollections, I'd say that he lacks the ability to remember a significant portion of the past four years of his life."

At this, Kisame's heart missed a beat. He'd only known Itachi for three years now. If Itachi couldn't remember the last four years of his life, that meant that he most likely didn't remember ever meeting Kisame, confirming his worst fear.

"It would see that his memory starts to fade during his last year of college…" the nurse continued scanning her notes, "According to his medical history, he was involved in an accident when he was twenty-one years old that appeared to yield no injuries, but now that's he suffering from an unusual onset of amnesia,"

"Unusual how?" Kisame asked.

The nurse licked her lips and crossed her legs to better face Kisame as she spoke. "Vehicle and motor accidents do not usually cause retrograde amnesia. Failing to recall events that happened shortly before the incident is normal; he will most likely never regain his memory of the accident itself."

Kisame gave a sigh of relief. That meant that there was still hope, right? "But he will regain his memories of the past four years right?" He asked. "Eventually, he'll remember who I am?"

The way she raised her eyebrows and sighed was not a good sign. "It's hard to say, Mr. Hoshigaki. As of right now, there is no cure for amnesia."

Kisame felt like throwing up.

"He may regain his memory tomorrow. Or within a few days. Or weeks. Or months. Or years. He may never regain the memories that were lost."

"Why is that?"

"The brain is a very delicate and very complex organ that's protected by spinal fluid. The spinal fluid acts as a cushion, so to speak, so that the brain doesn't crash into the skull. In some cases, such as vehicle and motor incidents, the brain does crash into the skull, causing loss of brain cells, the severing of neurons – which are involved in sending messages to and from the brain – and in some cases, damaging the hippocampus which codes memories into short and long term. He may regain his memories; he may not. It's all a matter of time." She explained.

Kisame nodded along, still processing what all she'd told him, and made a mental note to do some research on concussions and amnesia when he got the chance.

"In the meantime," she continued, "we'll monitor him for a few more days to ensure that no further damage has been done."

Kisame nodded and looked up to meet her eyes directly. "Is there anything that I can do for him?"

She stared into his eyes for a moment before briefly checking her clipboard. "From what I understand, the two of you live together, correct?"

"Yes. I moved in with him almost six months ago."

"I see. He can take generic pain medication to manage his headaches; his cuts and bruises will heal in a couple of weeks. If he complains of any soreness or tenderness, have him apply an ice pack for ten to twenty minutes at a time."

"But as far as his amnesia…?" He asked, uncertain if he wanted to hear the answer or not. He knew though, that finding the answers to as many questions as he could think of would greatly help him take care of Itachi once he was discharged.

"Unfortunately, there's not much you can do for him there. I recommend that you encourage him to rest as much as possible, get a good night's sleep each evening, and ease his workload. He shouldn't do anything physically demanding, or spend much time in front of the computer, and should probably talk to his employer about working shorter days until he recovers." She said.

Kisame cringed. Since Itachi's promotion at work, he rarely spend any time with Kisame. Asking him to take it easy on any given day would be difficult, if not impossible, but in his current state…. "But with his amnesia," Kisame started, "he just got a promotion at work that doesn't allow him much free time…and he definitely started within the past four years so how…?"

"Seeing as his memories start to fade during his final year of college, I'd encourage you to find the number of his employer or a co-worker and explain the situation as best as you can to them. I can't say when he'll be able to return to work though; he'll have to come in for periodic check-ups so we can monitor his progress. Until then, I recommend that he take time to rest at home."

"Okay." Kisame sigh with a heavy sigh. He had a long road ahead of him, that was for sure. "Should I take time off to take care of him?"

"If you can afford to take time away from work, then yes, that would be very helpful." She said, nodding vigorously. "He's going to need as much support from his family and friends during this stressful time in his life. Being around his loved ones will provide a place where he feels most comfortable.

At the mention of "family," Kisame realize that he'd only scraped the surface of his troubles. Not did he have to find a way to get Itachi to remember who he was, but he'd have to call his employer and explain Itachi's amnesia to him/her (_heck_, he didn't even know the gender of Itachi's boss), and on top of that, explain all of this to Itachi's family…

He was roused from his thoughts when the nurse laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to go talk to him about this now, alright?" She asked.

Kisame nodded, too engrossed in his thoughts to properly answer her.

The nurse nodded and rose to her feet to break the news to Itachi and answer any questions he may have had for her.

In the meantime, Kisame tried to think of ways in which he _wouldn't_ have to talk to Itachi's family about all this. Who did he call? Itachi's father was angry with him for leading Sasuke down the wrong path, so Kisame calling him up to say "hi, this is your son's boyfriend, though he can't remember who I am because he has a rare form of amnesia. Why does he have amnesia? Because we got into a fight and he drove off and got into a car accident on his way to sort out your issues with Sasuke." Yeah. That would go down well.

Would he be able to call Sasuke? He laughed at the thought, remembering how Itachi himself couldn't get a hold of Sasuke. Even if Kisame managed to talk with him, he felt that Sasuke would be too engross in his own affairs to give any consideration to his older brother's health to do anything about it.

And then there was Itachi's mother, but based on what Kisame knew of her, the minute Itachi called, she'd call her husband over and it would be the same as if Kisame had called Fugaku Uchiha himself.

With that, Kisame came do a decision and rose to his feet to meet the nurse by Itachi's bedside.

"During this time of healing, you're going to need support from your family and friends to help cope with some of the challenges you'll be facing in the coming days." The nurse was saying.

_Shoot. I didn't think she'd get so far this quickly._ Kisame thought to himself.

"Thank you." Itachi said with a small nod.

The nurse smiled in response, clearly pained by the fact that someone as young as Itachi couldn't remember some of the most important years of his life. "Listen, I'm going to leave you with Mr. Hoshigaki here so that the both of you can sort out what you need to do in the next few weeks, okay?"

Itachi nodded once more.

Kisame waited for her to vacate her seat so that he himself could sit down next to Itachi. "So," he said, "I was thinking about taking a week off from work once you get out of here." He smiled. "How's that sound?"

Itachi stared at him in the same way that a little kid stared at their parent's friends.

Kisame smiled and reached out to gently clasp Itachi's hand. "I promise, we'll get through this together…okay?"

"About that." He said quietly, pulling his hand away.

Although it hurt to have Itachi away from him, it didn't stop him from patiently waited to hear what his boyfriend had to say next.

"I trust that you're who you say you are," he started, "but I think that it would be best if I stayed with my parents once I'm discharged."

_Of all the things he could've said…_Kisame thought to himself bitterly. "I don't think that's such a great idea 'Ta."

"Why not?" He asked.

Kisame sighed and looked in the direction of the window. The blinds were open and it was a beautiful day outside, but the only view was that of the scaffolding used for the construction being done on the hospital roof.

The same applied to Itachi's current state. His eyes were open, but his amnesia prevented him from realizing the life he'd created for himself in the past four years. And if the circumstances, just like Itachi's hospital room, were different, maybe he could enjoy the view instead of being stuck inside his room all day.

"Let's just say that they're not on good terms with one another right now." Kisame finally said. "I think that it would be best if you just came back home. With me, 'Ta."

Itachi's brows drew together in confusion. "Why? What's going on?"

Kisame could see it now. He'd tell Itachi about his family's issues. Itachi would feel compelled the fix them, and since he wasn't allowed to drive, he'd try to convince Kisame to drive him to his parent's house, and Kisame would feel obligated to do so, which would lead to an awkward introduction with Itachi's already tense parents, and would screw up any chance of Itachi remembering who Kisame was and before he knew it, their relationship would be over.

Itachi already didn't trust Kisame. But if he lied, where would that get him?

"Well…" Kisame said, "Sasuke wants to drop out of college."

Itachi's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak but Kisame cut him off before he could continue.

"Apparently he decided that he wanted to become a cop or something." He explained, realizing that he wasn't as up to date on Itachi's family life as he probably should have been. Nevertheless, he continued on. "Your father's mad at him, and apparently the man's mad at you because he thinks that you're the one who gave him the idea. And your mother, well, she's kinda in the middle."

"When did this happen?" Itachi asked him.

"On Friday." Kisame supplied. When Itachi gave him a blank stare, he elaborated. "Today's Sunday, 'Ta. So two days ago, I guess. Your dad called you on your way home from work to yell at you about it, so I'm guessing that's when you found out."

"You're guessing?" Itachi asked quizzically. "_You don't know_? I thought you said you were my boyfriend, how can you not know what's going on in my family?"

It was only a matter of time, Kisame knew, before Itachi zeroed him out for his uselessness. "You never wanted to talk about them, and I never asked. Besides, I've never met the people before."

As if it wasn't bad enough that Itachi didn't trust who Kisame said he was before, he certainly didn't trust Kisame now judging by the glare he was receiving.

"Itachi," Kisame said, capturing the younger man's attention, "I know it sounds bad, but I was just giving you your space."

"I need to see them." Itachi whispered.

"'Ta, I don't think that's such a good idea. What with your amnesia and all, I think that it'd be best if you—"

"Kisame," Itachi said, cutting him off, "they're the closest people I know that I still remember. Whether they're fighting or not, they're still my family."

Kisame brought his hands down on his lap in a fit of frustration, creating a loud "clap" against his thighs. "Great. So what does that make me? Chopped liver?"

"I'm sorry." He said, averting his gaze, unwilling to make eye contact with Kisame.

When your loved ones were hospitalized because of illness or injury, it was your job to be by their side 24/7, as often as you could be, and as long as you needed to be when their family was too absorbed in their own matters to visit themselves.

But what did you do when it was not your face your love one longed to see when their first woke up in the morning and instead, the angry faces of people who weren't very pleased with one another at the moment?

And what could you do when your touch caused them to draw back in shock because to them, you're just a stranger? And that deep down, you know that a gentle touch is enough to make them feel safe and secure along with the words "everything's gonna be fine so long as I'm here to help you through it" ?

These were the questions Kisame found himself struggling to find the answer to as he and Itachi sat in silence, staring anywhere but at the other person.

* * *

Author's note: Yes, this is your typical, run of the mill amnesia story, and yes, I'm aware, it resembles a popular novel/movie but I'd like to point out why it's worth the read:

1) The main characters are homosexual

2) The main characters are not only homosexual, they're homosexual Naruto characters

3) Amnesia can happen to anyone at anytime. It happens.

And another note: I'm no doctor. I did a little bit of research on amnesia, but if you or a loved one feel that you/they have amnesia, please ask a doctor or do your own research on the topic. I might have bent the rules of logic/science/medicine for the purpose of this fic - for the purpose of entertainment, not for real-world diagnoses...

That being said, there's good news, bad news, more bad news, and more good news:

The bad news is - I haven't written anymore than this, so this is the last completed chapter to date.

The good news is - I plan to write more. Once I figure out what the best course of action is from here.

The bad news is - I'm kinda tied up right now and probably won't get around to it any time within the next month.

The good news is - I only started this story recently - like, less than a month ago? So I'll probably be more inclined to work on it first when I do have some free time on my hands.

Thank you for your patience!

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001

PS Sorry for the long author's notes at the end!


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